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Subject: health Thu, Sep 10 1992
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 92 05:44:18 EDT
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09-10 0000
DECISIONLINE: Health
USA TODAY Update
Sept. 10, 1992
Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network
    
BABOON LIVER PATIENT HAD AIDS:
   The world's first recipient of a baboon liver transplant was 
infected with the AIDS virus, doctors confirmed Wednesday. The 
unidentified 35-year-old man, who died Sunday of a brain 
hemorrhage, was infected with the virus before the historic 
transplant, but did not show signs of AIDS.
    
DOCTORS WERE IN THE DARK:
   Doctors say the baboon liver patient's HIV infection did not 
influence the outcome of the transplant. Rumors that the patient 
was infected with HIV have persisted since the transplant was 
performed June 28. Jeffrey Romoff, president of the University of 
Pittsburgh Medical Center, says the center's policy always has 
been to not permit transplants on AIDS patients.
    
ARTHRITIS DRUGS TIED TO ULCERS:
   Certain drugs used by millions of people for arthritis and 
chronic pain can cause ulcers and should be used with caution, 
research shows. Previous studies have suggested long-term use of 
high-dose non-steroidal anti-inflammatory prescription drugs are 
linked to ulcers. The new research confirms the link, says Dr. 
Arthur Grayzel of the Arthritis Foundation.
(For more, see special Ulcers package below.)
    
HEALTH CARE BILL PROMISING:
   Democrats showered support Wednesday on a bill that stands a 
good chance of becoming law as Congress races to enact health care 
reform - however limited - this year. "The legislation before you, 
if enacted, would give some states a head start on national health 
care," said Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, D-Maine. 
Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton also voiced 
support.
    
LIGHTEN UP ON SALT INTAKE:
   It is important to eat salt in moderation, even if you are 
young and healthy, says Dr. Jeffrey Cutler, a researcher at the 
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Cutler claims that if 
you watch your salt intake when you are young, high blood pressure 
is less likely to occur in later years. Most people should try to 
keep their daily salt intake to between 1,100 and 3,330 
milligrams.
    
SPORTS DRINKS CALLED SNAKE OIL:
   Sports drinks and nutritional supplements that promise athletes 
a "winning edge" are nothing more than snake oil, says Michael 
Liang, director of the Human Performance Laboratory at the 
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark. No 
food or drink can transform an average athlete into a world-class 
champion, says Liang.
    
VEGETARIAN CHILDREN GET BOOST:
   Vegetarian children may be less likely to develop heart disease 
later in life than their meat-eating counterparts, according to a 
Boston University study in Vegetarian Times magazine. Scientists 
also noted that the vegetarian children consumed 11.6 more grams 
of fiber and 2.8 percent less fat daily than the non-vegetarians.
    
NEW MILK DEVELOPED:
   Agricultural Research Service scientists in Peoria, Ill., have 
developed frozen concentrated milk that has the texture of whole 
milk but the cholesterol content of skim. The new product also 
provides the convenience of reaching into the freezer to make a 
quart of milk, the U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers say.
    
SENIORS' EYE CHECK HELPS DRIVING:
   The rate of traffic deaths among older drivers is lower in 
states that require vision tests before renewing driver's 
licenses. Such testing "appears warranted, at least for drivers 65 
... or older," three physicians concluded in a study conducted by 
the Centers for Disease Control.
    
SPECIAL PACKAGE ON ULCERS:
    
STOMACH ULCERS FOUND:
   Dr. Miles Allison of the Royal Infirmary, in Glasgow, Scotland, 
reports in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine that ulcers 
of the small intestine were found in 8.4% of people who used 
high-dose non-steroidal anti-inflammatory prescription drugs 
(NSAID) in the previous six months, compared with 0.6% of 
nonusers; stomach ulcers were found in 21.7% of NSAID users vs. 
12.3% of nonusers.
    
OCCASIONAL USE NOT A THREAT:
   The NSAIDs most widely used by arthritis patients: Naprosin, 
Voltarin and Feldene. Occasional use with over-the-counter 
ibuprofen is not associated with an ulcer risk. The Arthritis 
Foundation estimates 2% to 4% of people who take NSAIDs for one 
year will develop serious gastro-intestinal trouble, including 
ulcers, hemorrhages and perforations.
    
PATIENTS SHOULD BE SUPERVISED:
   Grayzel urged people taking the drugs to contact their doctor 
or the Arthritis Foundation if they think they are at risk. Says 
Grayzel: "No one should stop taking their medicine. But they 
should be taken under the careful supervision."
(End of package.)
    
Health Editor: Michele Coleman. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of 
USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution 
violates federal law.
    

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